Grayscale expands crypto ETF push with Worldcoin filing

Grayscale has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange traded fund that would hold Worldcoin’s $WLD token directly.

The proposed Grayscale Worldcoin ETF would seek to list on Nasdaq under the ticker GWLD. Its shares would track the value of the $WLD held by the trust using the CoinDesk Worldcoin Benchmark Rate, minus fees and other expenses.

Grayscale has not yet disclosed the fund’s management fee, initial seed investment or the amount of $WLD represented by each share. Those fields were left blank in the prospectus and are expected to be completed through later amendments.

The fund would issue and redeem shares through blocks of 10,000 shares known as baskets. Authorized participants could create or redeem baskets using $WLD directly or submit cash orders facilitated by liquidity providers.

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BitGo Bank & Trust would custody the fund’s $WLD holdings. The Bank of New York Mellon would serve as administrator and transfer agent, while CSC Delaware Trust Company would act as trustee.

The trust would operate as a passive vehicle and would not use leverage or derivatives. Its sole objective would be to provide exposure to $WLD without requiring shareholders to purchase or custody the token themselves.

$WLD is the native token of World Network, the digital identity project initially developed by Tools for Humanity, which was founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania. The network combines World ID, its proof of personhood system, with World Chain, World App and biometric verification devices known as Orbs.

The filing said approximately 3.5 billion $WLD tokens were circulating as of June 30, with an aggregate market value of about $1.4 billion and daily trading volume of $135.1 million. $WLD ranked as the forty first largest crypto asset by market capitalization at the time.

Grayscale identified the network’s reliance on biometric data as one of the product’s principal risks. World’s use of iris imaging through its Orb devices has faced regulatory restrictions, enforcement actions and court decisions across multiple jurisdictions.

The prospectus also highlighted World Chain’s centralized sequencer, $WLD’s price volatility and the possibility that regulators could classify the token or related transactions as securities. Any adverse regulatory determination could reduce the token’s value or force the trust to terminate.

$WLD, the native token of World Network, rose about 4% following the filing. Despite the gain, the token remains roughly 97% below its all time high of $11.80, reached in March 2024.

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